JFK, Nasser and Israel

[Michael Griffith]

Once again we have some liberals who are trying to twist JFK's views into something they were not to make it seem like JFK agreed with their radical leftist position, when in fact he did not. Some liberals have become radicalized against Israel and even minimize or whitewash the Nazi-like brutality of Hamas and Hezbollah. We see an effort by some of these folks to twist JFK's position on Israel to resemble their own. JFK was not even remotely anti-Israeli. Let's read some of what JFK himself said on the subject:

          Israel is a land of many paradoxes, yet it has an inner strength and harmony which few nations of our time possess. Prime Minister Ben-Gurion observed some years ago: "If you don't believe in miracles here, you aren't a realist". There are many such contrasts in the life of Israel. First of all, in Israel the present and the past are closely linked. They are part of a seamless web. We celebrate today the tenth anniversary of the State of Israel, yet the people of Israel have an identity and history which reaches back well over two centuries. The Israelis in a sense are the oldest of people and the youngest of nations. In Israel there is a constant process of rediscovery. . . .

          The State of Israel, I have said, is armed – yet it is not militaristic. Even the need for troops has not been socially wasteful in the new nation. Every man and woman owes service to the state, and the training is very intensive. Yet this training is often combined with work on the land – with taming the desert, irrigating the rocky soil, building roads, aiding in village development and construction. The army is actually a great force for unifying and educating the people. It introduces a sense of equality and stature. It offers for many an important period of education and higher training.

          Nor has Israeli military and foreign policy yielded to the dangers of an empty militancy. On the day that the State of Israel came into existence on May 14, 1948 the Secretary-General of the Arab League declared: "This will be a war of extermination and momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades." Though this statement did not represent perhaps the whole body of Arab opinion, it is a statement which has found no echo among responsible leaders in Israel. Self-preservation, not imperialism, has been the dominant and just note struck in Israel. (https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/israels-tenth-anniversary-washington-dc-19580511)

And:

          I spent two weeks in Palestine in 1939. There the neglect and ruin left by centuries of the Ottoman Empire were slowly being transformed under conditions of the utmost difficulty by labor and sacrifice. But Palestine was still a land of promise in 1939 rather than a land of fulfillment.

          I went back in 1951. In three years, this new state had opened up its doors to 600,000 people. The United States, composed of 175 million people, has an immigration of all we can take, we say, of 250,000 a year. Even while fighting for its own survival Israel has given hope to the persecuted all over the world and it has given a new dignity to those who believe in religious freedom in every part of this globe. . . .

          Three weeks ago, I said in a public statement Israel is here to stay. The next day I was attacked by the Cairo radio rebuking me for my faith in Israel and quoting this criticism from Arabic newspaper Al-Gomhouria. . . .

          The ideals of Zionism have, in the last half century, been endorsed by both parties, and by Americans of all ranks in all sections. Friendship for Israel is not a partisan matter. It is a national commitment. . . .

          The Israelis surrendered their 1956 victory only because the United States and the United Nations committed themselves to the fulfillment of a pledge of free transit in the Suez Canal. So this is a United Nations resolution, in which we have a particular moral obligation. (https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/new-york-ny-19600826)

[Joe Bauer]

Just watched the 1974 film "The Odessa File."

Adapted from the novel of the same name written by Frederick Forsyth.

I had forgotten the film begins in Germany on the day JFK was shot in Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.

There are many dialogue references to JFK's assassination in that beginning segment.

Also, reference is made to a supposed attack plan upon Israel by Nasser that included sending 400 missiles ladened with poisonous gas.

Just a curious JFKA aside about the film.

And remember it was made only 10 years after 11,22,1963.

[Pamela Brown]

On 11/20/2023 at 10:50 PM, James DiEugenio said:

Thanks Pamela for being knowledgeable about this difficult issue.

You're welcome.  

I managed to get my viewpoint across to a local reporter...

https://www.eplocalnews.org/2023/11/22/60-years-later-ep-researcher-offers-her-insights-on-jfks-assassination/

[James DiEugenio]

Nice one, amazing that you got so much in one article.  Congrats.

[Pamela Brown]

6 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Nice one, amazing that you got so much in one article.  Congrats.

Thank you.  I kept telling the reporter, "but you can't say that," but he managed to do so...

Edited November 26, 2023 by Pamela Brown